TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Desolate Aftermath]

I didn't know you did rock! I like this a lot, especially when the synth comes in at :48. I love the ominous mood and instruments. I love all the structural changes too. I think it progresses a little slowly at times, though, especially in the beginning. Otherwise, however, I like the transitions and atmosphere and mood. I think it's great that you're expanding your palette of genres, so-to-speak! Sorry I didn't review this earlier, btw. I was on college visits in New York. Anyway, keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

Thanks! I'm not very used to rock, but I gave it a shot.

Structure? Really? It literally went intro-chorus-verse-outro. Like, that's it. I guess simplicity is worth more than it seems. :)

The beginning... I'd actually written the chorus first; the beginning was intended to build up to the chorus. That's why it seems dragged out, I guess. Details seem a lot cooler when you're writing them, but if the audience can't hear them, it's futile! Yay!

I try to keep up a wide range of genres. I think it's a great way to learn about different styles of music while keeping my skills sharp.

Don't feel obliged to review everything, dude! Your life is busy enough as it is, what with college and all!

As always, thanks for the review.

[Jumpy]

It does have a light, bouncy sort of mood! :D Reminds me of a child skipping along a sidewalk on a sunny summer day, but by :53 he realizes that he has no one to play with. He goes through a cycle of revelation, and by the end he has found some other child to share his toys with! <3 Yeah, I'm in a weird mood today...Anyway, I like the melodies a lot. It has just the right amount of variation, and was overall a very enjoyable piece! The structure and transitions worked very well, and I appreciate the dynamic contrast introduced at 1:06. Keep up the good work, LSD! :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Wow thanks!

One cannot help but love all those visuals you're planting in our minds! I really enjoy the pictures you paint, as they also give me insight in what people can think of, when they hear my stuff :D I'm also happy to see that you managed find a story for this song, especially since I couldn't really imagine anything myself, while making this, if I recall correctly :p

Im actually quite pleased with the melodies myself too, even if they might be a bit random :) And imo as well, this composition is definitely full of variation; it doesn't really want to stay in the same place for too long XD

The transitions are pretty odd I'd say, but I guess that doesn't necessarily make them bad. This is not a song that's meant to be bland or something very ordinary. Thus, it's good that you like the transitions!

This might be an old song, but I'll do my best to keep up my good work! (Don't you just love how the abbreviation of my name is the same as that of a drug :D Maybe it's because people get high on music ;D).

Anyway, thanks again!

[still breathing]

I love the emotion and the simplicity. I can really tell you improvised this - it really makes it feel more authentically classical. I love the structural elements, especially the breakdown at 1:30. However, I wish the structure came full-circle a bit more, and you brought back some of the themes of the first half of the piece in a sort of finale. I find A-B-A forms of music effective, and I know you've done that in the past as well! Overall, though, excellent and beautiful work! I'm always looking for more songs for my Classical Playlist, but sometimes they just come to me on their own through my notifications feed! :D Keep up the great work, Johnfn! ;)

johnfn responds:

I think you really hit the nail on the head. Remembering the themes that I used earlier in an improv is actually one of the hardest things for me (though I struggle with a bunch of other stuff like rhythm and just being able to play the piano without making mistakes). I really have to be conscious about it or I just forget.

In fact, bringing back the original theme at 1:00 was pretty good for me because I usually just flat out forget it. (I wonder how I remembered for Snowy Night? lol)

[steel nightmares]

Are you kidding?! I love creepy tracks! :D The mood and atmosphere was very ominous and engaging. I'm not such a huge fan of that distorted bass that comes in at around :40, though. The glitchy stuff at 1:09 worked better imo, but it still seemed very experimental and random at times. The transition at 1:50 was pretty sudden, but overall the structure was interesting. I loved what you did at 2:47 and how that led back into the angry distorted bit at 3:13. Btw, I think this is the closest thing to dance music you've ever uploaded, Johnfn, although you definitely showed the dark, clubish side! I thought the you didn't lead into the ending enough, though. It needed to be a bit more conclusive imo. Overall, though, this is an interesting experiment, and I definitely think you have the potential to master this genre as well! >:D Sorry I didn't review this earlier btw. I was in Maine on college visits...

johnfn responds:

> distorted bass

Too bad hahah this bass is finding its way into ALL OF MY SONGS >:O FM BASS FOREVER

> glitch

I certainly abused glitch in this song.

> dance music

I seriously can't believe you consider this dance music! Actually it kinda makes sense because of the heavy repetitive beat... but still what kind of people would dance to this? xD

> ending

I'm actually not sure what you mean about this, since I had it wind down pretty nicely I thought, except perhaps that the gradually more bitcrushed drums kinda just cut out randomly. I coulda fixed that.

No worries on being late dude! College is more important than my derps :D I hope that your college search is going well. Though I did start to wonder if you were dead. I have this part of my brain that instantly assumes that people are dead if I don't hear from them in more than like 12 hours. I'm kind of weird that way...

[The Forgotten Past]

It has a really beautiful and emotional yet full sound. I definitely couldn't play this on the piano. I assure you that your skill with instruments far exceeds mine! I just love the structure and transitions. I also love how parts of it are full of feeling and heaviness in a way (e.g. :55), while others feel cathartic like screaming out loud on top of a lonely mountain (e.g. 1:36). It's a beautiful composition and feels very authentic (even if you seem to regret not playing it better, which didn't bother me at all). I think the reverb makes it sound like you actually played it in Symphony Hall! :D Excellent work, LucidShadowDreamer! ;D "Snowy Night" is an AWESOME song, btw. Johnfn fanboys unite! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yay! I'm glad you liked this :D
Well, might be you couldn't play it, but the piano is the ONLY instrument I can play, so I'm sure you're better than me at all the rest! And anyway, there's always someone better than you, so I guess I should be happy I can play this well :)

I'm glad you like the transitions, I was actually worried that they were too over the top or too random! I think that the reason this song is filled with feeling, is because a large part of it was originally an improvisation. After that it was easy to continue in the same style.

I like how you actually write in pictures and emotions in your reviews! It really gives a little bit more, and is appreciated!

"1:36"

=> Yes, that is the climax of the song, so it makes sense that it's "screaming" :D

I recorded this through my new computer, so since the settings were different I actually struggled quite a lot with the reverb, so it's good to see that I seem to have succeeded with it! :'D

Thank you for another review, and Johnfn fanboys unite indeed! ^ ^

[Assorted Blues]

It's very catchy, and I love the instruments and mood. I feel like it may be slightly cliché, though: this is pretty much the standard bassline to use in a large portion of traditional blues music. However, I thought you did a great job of providing a lot of variation, including an awesome acoustic bass at 1:30 and even electronic elements starting at 1:45. I liked the structure and transitions, and most of the instruments too, but the one at 2:18 sounded a little high-pitched and harsh to me. It started feeling a bit busy around 2:52. I think you have a habit of forcing the harmonies a bit too much after a certain point in your pieces, LunacyEcho. I have the same problem. We'll work on it together! ;) Anyway, the ending was cool. You managed to pack a LOT of instruments in there and still make in coherent, which is excellent! Keep up the great work! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

Whoa, a double review! Nice!

=> cliché =>

I know that it's an overused bassline, but I couldn't resist. It's the only standard melody I included, though, so I hope that cancels it out. :P

=> 2:18 =>

Yeah, I can see how it could sound harsh. It's not the best bitcrushing job in the world, I'll admit. Instead of saying 'harsh', I prefer to say 'nostalgic', for all those people that used to listen to this stuff when they were young. *goes and realizes that this sounds nothing like that* Ah, well.

=> harmonies =>

I have a habit of introducing stuff, breaking from that and introducing other stuff, then putting everything together into one. That's the basic structure of most of my songs. I really ought to try making something more minimalistic. That'd be interesting. You've just given me my next song idea!

Thanks a lot for the two-in-one, TheDoor!

[Analog Rush]

I love the atmospheric instruments at the beginning, and the harmonies that start at around :13. I think :26 was too loud in general compared to the relatively quiet first 30 seconds or so, but that's an easy fix. What bothered me most about this piece was probably the transition at :48 - it was very sudden. However, I love the melodies at 1:11. That instrument at 1:47 was really cool, too. Overall, I really liked the structure, and most of the transitions. I loved the portamentos and melodic variations at about 2:00 and beyond, but I thought you started to overdo it a bit after 2:30 or so. It felt a little busy there. Overall, though, nice work! I look forward to hearing more from you, LunacyEcho! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

=> too loud in general =>

I think when you write a song, you sort of become blind to how it might sound to people who listen to it the first time. Going back and taking a listen, I think you're right. That is a bit loud. Sorry!

=> transition at 0:48 =>

Yeah, that was a little annoying for me as well. I tried dampening the blow by putting it under Drum'n'Bass and hoping that people would sort of expect that, but once again, I guess I was blinded by creation. :P

=> portamentos =>

Whoa, there, going old school in terminology! I had to look up what 'portamento' meant! Probably because I only received formal training in piano and it's kinda hard to slide up and down a piano. Maybe because of the part with the keys. Not sure. Anyways, I call it 'glide' because that's how it's referred to in my software. :D

=> 2:30 =>

Really? Aw... That's my favorite part! It's not for everyone, I guess. I can see how it might seem really complex compared to the rest of the song.

Thanks for the review, TheDoor! I'm sorry for only really responding to the criticisms, but I think you've reviewed enough to know that your writing is appreciated. :)

[Scareludium]

This is beautiful! :D Did you play it live? If so, I'm very impressed! I love the mood, btw. It's creepy and ominous in a way, yet also strangely innocent - like a baby hypnotized by its mobile. I think it needs more variety and structural development, though. The phrasing gets very predictable and repetitive after a certain point. The simplicity of it gives it a stagnant feel as well. I'd advise you to add more instruments, variation, and dynamic contrast across phrases. I also thought the ending felt a bit...inconclusive. However, it is very harmonically sound, and had just the right amount of reverb. Good work! Keep at it, LucidShadowDreamer! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks for another review! Yes, I did play it live, so thanks for being impressed. I've got to admit that it took a couple of recordings even to get it this good though :)
Interesting comparison with the baby :D

Yes, you're definitely right; this song is very predictable after a while, since it's structure stays precisely the same. I don't think I was aiming for a good song though, I made this pretty spontaneoulsy, one summers day XD

I've always been lazy about adding more instruments, but when I get time I'll try to do more songs that actually have more than one instrument in them.

That ending is just a random chord I came up with, since I didn't really know how to end the song :p

I'm glad you liked the reverb, since I tried my best adding it afterwards!

Once again, thank you, and I'll definitely try to keep up my (good?) work ;)